I remember lending the first English version to one of my coworkers, who returned the movie to me the next day with the words: "Couldn't finish it. But make no mistake about it this is a sad, sad movie. Takahata tells this story masterfully and with plenty of pathos, without drowning the plot in too many tear jerking moments. It quickly becomes clear that Seita is far too young to deal with the task of taking care of both himself and his sister - and far too proud to seek the help of others. ![]() The film chronicles the children's stay with relatives and their struggles to find food and cope with the impact the war has had on the Japanese public's morale. After their mother is injured in allied fire bombings, 14-year-old, Seita, and his four-year-old sister, Setsuko, try to make it on their own in harsh post-war Japan. The Movie Grave of the Fireflies is as much an anti-war movie as it is a touching drama about human nature and what happens when society stops paying attention to its children. The following is a review of the 2002 Collector's Series two-disk edition. The movie, released theatrically in Japan in 1988, previously made it to DVD in 1998 in movie-only, non-anamorphic form.
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